The salt used in cooking to enhance the flavor of food is made from a chemical compound called sodium chloride, so a lack of sodium in the diet is the same as eating too little salt. Consuming too much salt is associated with high blood pressure, but sodium also serves critical roles in the body. A lack of sodium in your diet can have bad health consequences.
Role of Sodium
Sodium dissolves in water to create an electrical charge that works with other minerals to transmit nerve signals, make muscles contract and keep your heart functioning. Sodium is also responsible for maintaining the right amount of fluids in the body, including blood volume, which in turn keeps your blood pressure at a normal level.
Sodium Requirement
You must obtain the sodium your body needs through the foods you eat. The adequate intake for sodium is 1.5 g per day, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. One teaspoon of table salt contains 2.3 g of sodium, the American Heart Association notes.
Sodium Deficiency
Lack of sodium in the diet is not a common cause of sodium deficiency, but low sodium intake combined with drinking too many fluids can disturb the balance of sodium and water in your body. When sodium levels drop too low, extra water enters cells throughout the body, including the brain, which can quickly become a health emergency. Low sodium, or hyponatremia, is usually the result of fluid retention or excreting too much sodium in the urine, due to dehydration, vomiting or diarrhea, medications, chronic medical condition, or failure of the kidneys, heart or liver.
Sodium in Food
About 75 percent of the salt you eat is added to foods during processing or manufacturing, rather than at the table or during cooking, the Linus Pauling Institute notes. This makes it difficult to consume too little salt because many products we rely upon, such as canned soups and vegetables, lunch meats and fast foods, contain a lot of sodium. For example, one fast-food cheeseburger, two hotdogs, two slices of some breads and 1 cup of canned soup, potato salad or cottage cheese each contain about 1.3 g of sodium. Eating just one of these would put you close to the daily adequate intake. However, most unprocessed foods are naturally low in sodium. If they're eaten fresh or cooked with little salt added, fruits, vegetables, beans, eggs, milk, nuts and meats provide very little salt per serving.
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